Former President Bill Clinton will hit the campaign trail next week in Arkansas.

Washington (CNN) – Former President Bill Clinton heads back to his home state of Arkansas next week to campaign for two Democratic candidates.

Clinton is scheduled to appear at events for incumbent Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln and congressional candidate Chad Causey on September 8.

Clinton backed both candidates in the Democratic primary, with the former president repeatedly hitting the trail for Lincoln as she fought to survive a tight Democratic primary process against the more liberal Lieutenant Gov. Bill Halter.

President Obama delivering a statement on the Mideast peace process on Wednesday.

Washington (CNN) - If this week's Mideast peace talks brokered by the Obama administration go well, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is offering to host a second round of talks later this month in his country, according to two officials close to the talks.

The officials stressed that nothing is firm yet and there is a lot of progress that still needs to be accomplished, starting with a dinner President Obama is hosting Wednesday night with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the Old Family Dining Room of the White House.

Mubarak is attending the dinner along with King Abdullah of Jordan, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Quartet Representative Tony Blair. On Thursday, Clinton will host Abbas and Netanyahu at the State Department in Washington for the actual start of direct talks between the two parties for the first time in nearly two years.

Washington (CNN) - Joe Miller calls President Obama "bad for America" and suggests he is leading the nation on a path to socialism. But the newly minted GOP Senate nominee from Alaska also has a message for the Republican Leadership. Not to mention unapologetic views on cutting federal spending and even possibly phasing out Social Security.

A few highlights from an interview taped Wednesday, the day after tea party favorite Miller clinched the GOP nomination. (Defeating incumbent GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski.)

"There is an opportunity to lead this country out of the crisis its in and I believe the Republican Party is well suited to take up that mantle," Miller said in an interview for Wednesday's "John King, USA." which will air at 7pm. "The question is whether or not there's the courage and leadership in that party to seize the moment and to recognize that the only way out of this is to get out of the age of the entitlement state to return power back to the states and recognize that central government is broken and see what we can do about fixing things and getting the government focused on those areas the enumerated powers that it should be doing. And the Republican Party can do it but it does require courage."

So is Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky the right GOP Senate leader or should the party choose a new one?

Washington (CNN) - With the U.S. war in Iraq drawing to a close, the Middle East moved front and center for administration officials Wednesday as President Barack Obama held a series of high-stakes meetings with Israeli and Arab leaders.

Obama was scheduled to meet behind closed doors at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Jordan's King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Obama and Netanyahu met first, briefly addressing reporters to condemn, in Obama's words, the "senseless slaughter" of two men and two women Tuesday near the West Bank city of Hebron.
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(CNN) - A day after his opponent conceded the Republican primary for Senate in Alaska, Joe Miller took on both President Obama and the Republican political establishment Wednesday, warning that the nation is headed towards socialism and facing a dire fiscal crisis.

Incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski conceded to the Tea Party-backed candidate late Tuesday in what is considered one of the largest upsets of the 2010 midterm election cycle.

In a wide ranging interview with CNN's Chief National Correspondent John King, Miller criticized the growth of entitlement programs and corporate bailouts under the Obama administration, and described Obama as "bad for America."

"He's one of the major forces moving this country towards socialism. He is expanding the entitlement state. It is the wrong direction for America," Miller said in an interview that will air on CNN's "John King, USA."

(CNN) Colorado Republican Senate nominee Ken Buck and his former challenger, Jane Norton, teamed up Wednesday, in the first joint-appearance by the two since the state's August 10 primary.

Norton, a former lieutenant governor, formally endorsed Buck at an event in suburban Denver.

"This is a really important election and we have an opportunity to take the Senate back. Ken is an extraordinary campaigner. He is going to go to Washington, he is going to vote to take our country back and to get us on sound financial footing. So I'm here to say, 'please support Ken.' I am doing it, and I hope all of you will," said Norton at the unity event, according to a press release from the Buck campaign.

Washington (CNN) – New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu weighed in on the contentious race for Senate in Nevada on Wednesday, criticizing Republican candidate Sharron Angle for saying in 2005 that she would have voted against funding for Katrina relief efforts because the money was not well accounted for.

"I think that government needs to live within its means," Angle said in a 2005 radio interview. "I would like to go join my voice with Mike Pence and others who, when $62 billion came out to be spent on Katrina relief, he said, 'wait a minute, I'm voting no and the reason is because I want to know where it's going, what it's going to be spent on, and who's going to be spending it.' So I'd like to join my voice there."

The comments were reported Sunday by Jon Ralston of the Las Vegas Sun, and have led to a response from Landrieu, who said Angle "is simply too extreme and dangerous to serve in the United States Senate."

A new survey indicates that more than half of Minnesotans do not approve of Gov. Tim Pawlenty's busy out of state travel schedule.

(CNN) – Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is discovering that laying the ground work for a presidential run can take a political toll back home.

According to a new survey from Minnesota Public Radio and the Humphrey Institute, 54 percent of Minnesotans aren't too keen on the governor's frequent out of state trips, which usually include visits to important presidential nominating states. Only 31 percent of voters approve of his busy travel schedule.

In even worse news for Pawlenty, Minnesota Republicans apparently would prefer Mitt Romney as their presidential choice than their own governor.

Stacked up against Romney, Pawlently loses 45-32 percent. In a matchup against Sarah Palin, Pawlenty comes out on top 59-24 percent.

(CNN) – As he contemplates a run for president, Rick Santorum has decided to take on the premise of one of President John F. Kennedy's most famous speeches.

The former Pennsylvania senator, who lost his reelection bid in 2006 and has expressed interest in running for the White House, will deliver a speech in Houston, Texas next week titled "A Charge to Revive the Role of Faith in the Public Square."

The speech, to be delivered at the University of St. Thomas, is being billed as a challenge to the speech Kennedy delivered in Houston 50 years ago, during which the then-senator and presidential candidate famously addressed concerns about his Catholicism.

In the now-historic speech in which he sought to quell concerns the dictates of his religion would influence his decision making, Kennedy articulated a view of complete separation of church and state.

Editor's note: Gloria Borger is a senior political analyst for CNN, appearing regularly on CNN's "The Situation Room," "AC360°," "John King, USA" and "State of the Union" as well as participating in special events coverage.

Washington (CNN) - There are just times, when you are president of the United States, that formally speaking to the American people is part of the job.

Not because it's politically wise, or even politically advisable - but because you have something important to say. As in, the seven-year-combat-mission-in-Iraq-is-over. Or, more specifically, as President Obama said, "it's time to turn the page."

It wasn't a particularly artful speech, nor was it full of new and interesting ideas. It was what it was: a ceremonial proclamation ending combat in a war Obama inherited (and opposed) and a declaration to fight another war (also, as he says, inherited) on the economy.